Was Ron Paul a flight surgeon in Vietnam and what exactly did he do?

I heard Ron Paul was a flight surgeon up til 1965. Did he actually ride in helicopters in vietnam treating wounded US military personnel? I heard him say he did physicals on guys going in but what was the flight surgeon thing all about?

According to the information I could find, he was working in SE Europe, Balkan areas as a flight surgeon during his active duty time that overlapped Vietnam. That means that any direct involvement he may have had with Vietnam Casualties may have been transport on the second half of their journey to Landstuhl Military Hospital in Germany after a stopover at bases in Greece or Turkey.

A flight surgeon is just a doctor with special medical training in flight medicine. Every person on flight status has to have higher health status that ground pounders and it is the flight surgeons job to make sure that service members meet those flight standards. Nobody gets on flight status without an "up slip" signed off by a flight surgeon. With the stroke of a pen he can ground an aviator.
Flight surgeons do NOT fly around in an aircraft performing surgeries as the title seems to imply.

Last edited by klamath; 01-21-2012 at 06:37 PM.

War; everything in the world wrong, evil and immoral combined into one and multiplied by millions.

I have seen a ton of people talking about how it's no big deal that Ron Paul was a flight surgeon and endless talk about how that doesn't make him a military vet, etc etc. Obviously those people do not understand the workings of the military. Normally very few people actually get to be front line, but the varying levels of support are just as key to a mission. For example, my uncle is a vet and recently retired from over 20 years of military service. He was in the Gulf 3 times (once in the early 90s, and twice since 9/11) aboard a Canadian navy ship. What did he do? He was the master cook. Some might laugh - but morale is very important for troops as is nutrition and keeping their energy level up. And if something had happened and the ship had been attacked, my uncle would have been in danger just the same as anyone else on board. He was weapon trained as was everyone else as well. So when I think of RP being a flight surgeon, I think along those same lines. All of those jobs in the military are important and necessary. See how well the soldiers would do if they had no good meals and no medical care or advice in a prolonged war situation.

My ex husband was in the british army for over 20 years as well. He started out in the Logistics corps and was a 'driver'. In the first Gulf war, he drove at the head of the supply convoy, over 300km away from the front lines. Did that make his job lower on the scale? He had to be the head vehicle, driving in the dark at night to move the supply convoy safely, no headlights allowed, and everyone following a glow stick hanging from the bottom on the vehicle in front of them. He was at the front and thus had no glow stick to follow. Often times in the morning they would find out that others back down the line had to GPS mark unexploded anti-tank and anti-personnel mines that the convoy had passed. But, he was 'just a driver', so his job in the Gulf War is often looked down upon. They also had to GPS mark dead Iraqi soldiers that they came across when going through prior fighting zones.

Ron Paul is a true American unlike Romney whose from Mexico and Obama who is half Kenyan.

Country of origin does not make or break whether someone is an american or not. In fact america is all about people coming from other countries and nationalites because they want to be free. An american is someone who upholds the constitution of the United States of America and on that basis, Gingrinch, Romnuts, Santos, and Obama are disqualified. Santorum is simply ignorant, I dont think he is as evil as the others but still he is obviously in it for his own personal advancement and self centered ambitions. its obvious from how he talks. he talks like a child that plays t-ball trying to validate himself to himself. The others know what they are doing is wrong. Its sad. i still face palm whenver I remember his answer when questioned about his taxes on debate night. "my taxes are at home and um, i cant get to them, but um...." geez